Memories of an outstanding and talented classmate - his name? Barack Obama

[bigtree]

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

I shared law lectures at Harvard with a certain presidential candidate, one of the cleverest and most charismatic men I have ever met, writes Christine Bell


SITTING IN my constitutional law class in 1989, little did I think that the young man to my right would likely become America's first African-American president. From 1989 to 1990, I studied in Harvard Law School. One of my main classes each day was US constitutional law, with Prof Lawrence Tribe, one of America's most pre-eminent constitutional lawyers. The young man to my right was Barack Obama.

I got some sense of who Obama was. The classes were taught in America's infamous "Socratic style" - through questions and answers between the lecturer and the students. Harvard lived up to the TV image of lively classroom debate that this method generates.

Obama was a talented student, answering often, and challenging and debating with the professor.

Sometimes class would become a two-person debate between the professor and Obama.

At that time in his early 30s, Obama already had the compelling quality for which he is now so famous. He was the singularly most beautiful man I had ever seen: his looks, his body language and his way of talking were all mesmerising.

When he talked, everyone listened. He exuded a quiet confidence and charisma, rather than the arrogant "cleverness" of TV law student programmes. Obama's undeniable charm has been challenged as "celebrity", but what was so compelling was his infectious and intelligent engagement with the issues being discussed . . .


read more: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2008/1028/1225061111573.html

[babylonsister]

1. Wow, recommend! What a nice endorsement. nt

[Arctic Dave]

2. Funny, no one remembers Phailin.

[malaise]

7. Five years

five colleges? Who could you remember that?

[charlie]

12. Six years

Let's not inflate her resume :D

And no one seems to remember her at all:

Sarah Palin's college years left no lasting impression

[dhpgetsit]

3. Fascinating!

:kick:

[Spazito]

4. Great read!

Thanks for posting, much appreciated.

Recommended.

[druidity33]

5. excellent piece. k+r, nt

[malaise]

6. Lovely read

Thanks. Rec.

[alittlelark]

8. I cried reading that article...

I feel so hopeful and hoping......

[tilsammans]

9. Even back then, Barack was special and stood out among his peers

Great story. Thanks for posting!

:kick:

[DeepModem Mom]

10. K&R

[lonestarnot]

11. His Constitutional Law experience is what I like most about him!

[Triana]

13. Yep. That's him alright.

And he is beautiful.

[DrPresident]

14. "When he talked, everyone listened"

that's Barack, baby.

[quiet.american]

15. That does my heart good! nt

[CADEMOCRAT7]

16. Thank you for this post ! n/t

[Joe Chi Minh]

17. Little things can be the most telling indicators. I was very suspicious of Obama

to begin with, because he was so reticent about the policies he favoured for the country. I realised later that, with the corporate media, bought and paid for, he had realised that he had to be devious in presenting, at that time, particularly, as small a target as possible to political enemies.

The turning point for me, however, was when someone described an incident at one of his indoor meetings, and Obama's response to it. The poster said that someone in the audience was taken ill in some way and had to be attended to by paramedics, on the spot.

However, instead of making appropriately sympathetic comments and "moving on", leaving the paramedics to their work and continuing with his speech, and without uttering any sort of blandishments to the audience, he simply stood there looking on, until the person was revived sufficiently to be taken off for further treatment. No redundant, apologetic explanations.

He was prepared for he and his message to no longer be the focus of attention; it was appropriate as far as he was concerned. Heck, he was interested in the treatment and recovery of the sick person. The campaign trail could wait.

Well, consummate politician though he has proved to be, he showed there and then that he was not first and foremost a professional politician. First and foremost, he was a professional human being - the mark of many of the real "greats", "warts and all". The names, Mohammed Ali, Attaturk, Nelson Mandela, Einstein, Zhukov spring to mind.